Knowledge and Craft Roles
Technical skills are useful for PCs as well.
Healer
- Drink this and get some rest; we'll see how you are in the morning.
Healers guide patients back toward health with skill and careful intervention. They diagnose problems, treat injuries and illnesses, and oversee recovery to help patients heal. Where others see blood and pain, Healers see problems to solve and lives to save.
Every Healer understands the fundaments of treating trauma — the basic cuts and fractures that result from fights or accidents. They learn medical diagnosis, treating injuries and diseases, preparing medicines and remedies, and managing patient care over time. Healers can simultaneously provide effective care for a number of patients equal to their Role rank; for each patient beyond that limit, reduce EL by 1 for all medical rolls. Having a Healer present is especially valuable after conflicts, when characters make recovery rolls to determine how much of their Harm was temporary Complications versus lasting Injury. A skilled Healer can provide bonuses to these crucial rolls, turning potentially permanent damage into manageable temporary setbacks.
This doesn't mean they're limited to bandages and bed rest — Healers can be military medics performing battlefield surgery under fire, plague doctors who risk infection to study disease, or assassins who learn the healing arts specifically for the creation of poisons. Living bodies follow rules, and those rules can be applied to adjust someone's health.
Recovery and Treatment
Post-Conflict Care: After any scene where characters take Harm, the GM typically allows recovery rolls to determine what portion was temporary Complications (fatigue, stunning, minor cuts) versus lasting Injury (strains, sprains, broken bones, etc.) A Healer can create bonuses for these rolls based on their expertise and available supplies. Do not underestimate the value of this!
Long-Term Recovery: Characters with Injury must make daily recovery rolls modified by the severity of the Injury, with success reducing their Injury total. Healers can provide ongoing care bonuses to these rolls, significantly improving healing rates. The more severe the Injury, the more valuable skilled medical attention becomes.
Common Healer Maneuvers
Treatment Specializations
- Trauma Handling — Emergency procedures, wound treatment, triage
- Apothecary — Preparation of medicines and antidotes, poison identification
- Diagnosis — Reading symptoms and identifying less obvious problems
Specialized Applications
- Plague Medicine — Infectious disease treatment and quarantine procedures
- Burns — Specialized care for those subjected to extreme heat
- Social Care — Bedside manner, helping emotional trauma